Apron conveyer



Sept. 17, 1940. v H. H. BELCH ER 2,215,413

7 APRON CONVEYER Filed March 17, 1938 6 Sheets-Sheet l I I h IWITNESSES. INVENTOR:

A TTORNEYS.

1*- 17, 1940. H. H. BELCHER 2,

' APRON CONVEYER Filed March 17, 1938 v e Sheets-Sheet 2 I N V EN TOR:

A TTORNEYS.

Sept. 17, 1940. BELCHER 2,215,418

APRON CONVEYER WITNESSES:

INVENTOR:

/ A TTORNEYS.

Sept. 17, 1940. H. H. BELCHER APRoN CONVEYER Filed March 17, 1938 6Sheets-Sheet 4 I INVENTOR: immld i1. Belcher W ATTORNEYS.

. oted together in difiering manners.

Patented Sept. 17, 1940 APRON CONVEYER Harold H. Belcher, Philadelphia,Pa., assignor to Philadelphia Drying Machinery Philadelphia, Pa., aVania Company,

corporation of Pennsyl- Application March 17, 1938, Serial No. 196,308

15 Claims.

This invention relates to apron' conveyers, and, more particularly, tothose of the sectional type commonly used for transporting fibrous andanal- 1 ogous materials through drying machines in which heated air iscirculated.

lnimostiof'the knowntyp'es of driers using wire mesh or the likeas'thetransporting-medium, adjoining sections of such material have beenpiv- For example in one type of drier using mesh material, the wiresalong the confronting edges have been fashioned into loops, so that whenthe adjoining sections are brought together with the loops in align- Iment, a suitable rod has been passed through said loops to provide thedesired hinge connection. This construction, in practice, has been foundfairly satisfactory where the mesh of the material is coarse and thewires correspondingly heavy, but in the case of fine mesh conveyersections, the gage of the wire is invariably so small that there is notenough material to withstand normal wear and tear with the resultthat-the use and life of such conveyers has been greatly reduced.

Again, in existing fine mesh screen conveyers of thetype using =beltlacing to.connect the adjoining sections, the length of such sectionsmust be made accurately to the pitch length of the chaincomponentaasthereis very .little, if any,

. freedom alongthe flight length of the'conveyer with this type of hingelacing. If the sections are made a trifle too long, the Wire mesh mustnecessarily buckle to permit fastening the apron to the girtassemblies,with the belt lacing pins in line withthe chain link pins. Similarly, ifthe sections should be a little short, the belt can be assembled only bystraining the sections in order to bring the two halves of the beltlacing to a position where the pin can be inserted. Also, as wear takesplace in the pivot pins and the side bars or links of the conveyerchain, so that the pitch thereof gradually increases, strains are setupin the conveyer sections which impose undue and detrimental loads onthe section juncture or pivot pins.

An important object of this invention is to obviate the above noteddisadvantages by using a separate hinge element or connector, which isof a character that positively ensures the requisite amount of pivotalstrength and durability at the wearing surface substantially across thewidth of the conveyer without introducing interacting strains betweensections either at assembly or as a later result of chain wear.

Another object is the provision of a hinge construction for conveyers ofthe indicated type in which the hinge element is relieved of any loadcarrying stress or strain.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a sectional apronconveyer which is simple in construction, durable and efficient in use,and 5 not liable to any misaligning tendency between the consecutivesections.

With the above recited objects, and incidental advantages, in view, thisinvention consists in the provision of an apron conveyer characterizedby the fact that the respective sections are not hinged directlytogether; or, in which one transverse edge of each enters intoengagement with the girt in definite angular relationship thereto withthe confronting transverse section edge pivotally connected to saidgirt;

For a clearer understanding ofthe invention and its merits, as well asto acquire a knowledge of the details of construction and means for re-.

-ducing it to practice,

following descriptive tures of novelty inv reference is to be had to thedisclosure, while the fea-, olved are more tersely expressed in theconcluding claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. I is a fragmentary plan view of a sectional conveyer embodying witha portionin sec Fig. II is an elevati Fig. III is a longit III-'-III of'Fig. I.

one form of the invention,

tion tobetter illustrate certain details of construction.

on of the same. udinal section on the plane Fig. IV is a cross-sectionon the plane IV-IV of Fig. I, drawn to a larger scale.

Fig. V is a similar section on the plane V-V in the same view, but drawnto still further enlarged proportions.

Fig. VIis a detail section of the hinge-structure as viewed on the planeVI -VI of Fig. I, but drawn to a larger scale for purposes of clarity.

VII-- VII of thesame Fig. VII is a similansection ;on the plane Fig.VIII is a detail View illustrating how the improved conveyer of thisinvention passes aroundits supporting sprockets.

Fig. IX is a broken perspective view of a girt hinge section.

Fig. XI is a detail section along the lines of" Figs. VI and VII ofvention.

Fig. XII is a broken veyer component involved in the structure of Fig.XI.

Figs. XIII and XIV a modified form of the inperspective view of theconare-views substantially corresponding with Figs. VI and VII,respectively, of a further modified form of the invention.

Fig. XV is a broken perspective view of the conveyer component involvedin the structure of Figs. XIII and XIV; and,

Fig. XVI is a fragmentary perspective view showing a different type ofgrommeted slot or wire mesh conveyer section and hereinafter furtherexplained.

Referring more in detail firstly to Figs. I-X,

inclusive, the form of this invention illustrated thereby is one whichmay, preferably, be employed 7 in driers for fibrous materials such aswool, cotton and the like. As shown, the apron conveyer c is formed ofsections 3 of wire mesh, or other appropriate reticulate or foraminousmaterial, said sections at their confronting edges being a tached to agirt member, later described, one edge of the section being in directengagement with the girt, and the other edge being attached to the girtby hinge means, comprehensively designated h, and later on described indetail. The conveyer c is preferably carried by side chains consistingof spaced outer and inner links I, 2, respectively, with interveningrollers 3, freely rotative on pin-and-sleeve connections 4, 5 inaccordance with known practice, said chain links I 2 being adapted forpassage around sprockets 6- on shafts I in an obvious manner.

Integral with, or rigidly secured to the leading end of each inner link2, proximate the associated pivot pin 4, is an angle bracket 8,affording attachment, as by stove-bolts 9, passed through holes 9", forthe chain spacing or cross girts I0, which are constructed to ensurethedesired load carrying capacity for the conveyer 0. Each girt It] ispreferably made from sheet metal with its lower edge, below the bracket8, suitably shaped at II for stiffening purposes, while the upper edgeis cut out along its sides and retroverted at I2 into contact with thegirt body, and said retroversion is provided with spaced holes i3,proximate its upper edge, for a purpose hereafter explained. The girtside cut-out portions provide extensions 6 for attachment to theinwardly-directed flanges of the angle brackets 8. The retroversion i2is also appropriately shaped to provide aninverted U-shaped portion M inspaced relation to said retroversion and, jointly defining upwardly-openand downwardly-open grooves lfi, l6, respectively; while the U-shapedbend I4 is provided with holes l1, intermediate those l3 previouslyreferred to, said holes ll being of a diameter for snug reception of thesplit shank [8 of cotter pins l9, with the lower part 28 of the oneshank portion bent back into contact with the confronting leg of theU-shape l4to prevent removal of said cotters.

The conveyer sections may consist of a length of reticulate screening asshown in Figs. IX; or, they may be formed of perforate sheet metal asillustrated in Figs. XI-XV. Each such section s measures in onedimension approximately the pitch of the chain links I, 2; or, in otherwords the distance between the axial centers of the chain pins 4; and in'the other dimension the sections s run continuously across the fullwidth of the conveyer c as best understood from Figs. IV and V. Theleading end of each consecutive section 5, it is to be noted, is bentdownward, with the downturned part or lip 2| inserted in theupwardlyopen groove l5 in the girt l0, and to which it is secured byflexible fastening means 22, best seen in Fig. VII. 'Each such means 22,preferably, consists of a short length of appropriate gage wire bent tostaple-form and inserted through the screening s and girt holes l3 fromabove, in an obvious manner, with the free ends twisted together at 23therebelow. On the other hand, the trailing end of each section s isretroverted to provide a bend 24 which is clamped or securely clinchedbetween an overfold 25 of a hinge-section 26 of'a dimensionsubstantially equalling the width of said section s. The hinge-section26, as best shown in Figs. VI, VII and X, consists of a length of sheetmetal longitudinally retroverted and formed along the side parallelingthe overfold 25 to embody a substantially-tubular or hinge portion 21,which is suitably cut-out or slotted at intervals to provide notches 28for the reception of the looped heads of the cotter pins l9; while theopposing side or overfold 25 of said hinge-section is retroverted at 29to form a groove 30 in which the bent-back trailing end 24 of thesection 8 is firmly secured or clinched. Now it will be readily apparentthat, with the just described construction, as the conveyer passesaround the sprocket 6, the angle between the girts I0 and the conveyersection down-turned lips 2| is always maintained without any variationfrom its initial position; the hinge action necessary, incident torounding the sprocket being entirely relegated to the section 26, cotterpins l9, and the inserted hinge pins or rods 31 employed for connectingthe one edge of each sections to the girt Hi. It is to be here remarkedthat the hinge pins 3! align with the axes of the associatedchainpin-and-sleeve connections 4, 5.

In order to prevent material carried-by the conveyer c from falling-offthe sides of the sections and at the hinges h, each said section isfitted with a side guard 32 fastened thereto and to ,an underlying flatstrip 33 by suitable securing means 34. These sideguards 32 are ofappropriate length to provide end overlaps 35, and are laterally steppedin cross-section for their major extent, as well as cut away at 36 toleave only their upper vertical flanges forming the overlaps 35; whilethe lower vertical flange parts 31 defined by the lateral stepping areof a depth to protect the section side edges from damage or fraying whenthe sections 8 are'made of wire mesh. It will also be seen that theguard overlaps 35 are so shaped that a-prac tically continuous side wallis maintained not only when the conveyer c is on its transporting andreturn flights but similarlywhen rounding the sprockets 6, as clearlyunderstandable from Figs. II, III and VI more particularly. Inconjunction with the conveyer side guards 32, stationary guards 38,indicated by dot-and-dash lines in Figs. IV and V, may be used, saidlatter guards being rigidly supported in proximate relation to themovable guards 32, so as to extend well below the top of the guards 32,in accordance with known practice.

Referring now to Figs. XI and XII, all those parts corresponding withthe items hereinbefore described are similarly designated by likereference characters in order to obviate unnecessary repetitivedescriptive explanation. The distinguishing feature of this form of 'theinvention consists in the'use of sections 5, formed from :a sheet 39 ofperforate metal, with one end angled to provide an attaching lip 40 forfixture in the groove l5, as previously set forth in connection withFigs. I-X. The other end of the perforate sheet 39 is suitably fashionedtoprovide hinge loops ll with spaced cut outs 42, respectively, forinsertion of the hinge pin 3l, andfree accommo clation of the heads ofthe cotter pins [9, as before described.

r Figs. XIII, XIV and XV, show a further modificationof the invention,or an alternative manner bf engagement between the leading ends of theperforate sheet metal sections 39' similar to those of Figs. XI and XII,and the girts l0, without the use of securing means such as 22 in Figs.I- X. In this form of the invention the girt lfl' is stepped at 43 andformed to inverted U -shape l4 as before described. Incidentally it willbe seen the retroversion I2 is dispensed with and that the girt Ill isprovided with only a downwardly-open groove l6, and holes ill forinsertion of the cotter pins [9. Furthermore, the leading end of thesection 39 is offset to pro-- vide' merging corrugations 44, 45; theformer of which 44 is of a curvature to receive the hinge loops 4! ofthe adjacent section, while the latter 45 is of a curvature to snuglyengage the top rounding 46 of the inverted U-shape l4, with provision ofa lip 4! normally in abutment with the forward leg portion of saidU-shape. In addition the holes for accommodation of the heads of thecotter pins 19' are formedmore in the nature of elongated slots 48 soasto permit the head of said cotter pins to pass freely therethrough forconvenience in assembling the conveyer c, or when replacing a worn ordamaged section 39'. In assembling this form of the conveyer c, theleading end of the sectionf39 isplaced on top of the girt ill with thecorruga tion 45 contacting the girt rounding 46 and the heads of thecotter pins l9 projecting through the spaced slots 48; whereupon thetrailing end of the adjoining section hinge loops 4| is lined withprimed references to avoid repetitive description.

' Fig. XVI illustrates a fragmentary portion of the leading end of awire-meshsection shaving the said end formed in accordance with thedisclosure in Figs. XIII-XV, inclusive, the only difference being thatthe slots for the cotter pin heads are fitted with grommets 49 toprevent disruption of the surrounding mesh; accordingly similarreferences to those used for explaining the alternative structuralfeatures shown by Figs; XIII-XV are applied with an added prime for formdiflerentiating purposes.

From the foregoing disclosure the merits and advantages of thisinvention will be clearly understood by those conversant with the art,but it is desired to herein emphasize the more pertinent features ofnovelty. In the first place, it will be obvious that in each form of theinvention described, the hinge p-ins 3|, 3| do not have any load tocarry, when the conveyer c is in use, as

the lower edge of the hinge tubular portions 21, 4|, or 4!, transmit theload directly to the'top of the girt U-shapes M or 46. Furthermore,--theclearance between the screen lips 2| and 40, as well as the diameter ofthe hinge pins 3| or 3! in relation to the hinge loops 2?, 4| and 4| maybe made so that considerable allowance for slight variation in eitherthe width of the sebtions s, s or 39, 39', or variations in the pitch ofthe chain pins 4 are readily accommodated.

In other words, by providing for a reasonable degree of easy fit in theparts just mentioned, the conveyer sections s, ,s or 39, 39', maybeconsidered as automatically adapting themselves to minor structuralinaccuracies, alignment defects, as well as expansive and contractivechanges produced by extremes in temperature. Another characterizingdistinction of this invention over the prior art resides in the factthat the sections s, s, 39, or 39', are not hinged directly together;one end edge thereof being angularly connected, inthe manner described,to the conveyer girts or ill, whereas the other end edge is hingedlyconnected to such girts, guarding against strains being imposed on thesaid sections. An important consideration with this type of conveyerapron, especially as shown in Fig. XI, is that the conveyer has aconsiderable amount of freedom to adjust itself to mechanicalmisalignment or to inaccuracies in the manufacturing. It is very commonin existing conveyers to find thatfthe angle between the conveyer chainsand the cross girts is not exactly ninety degrees. With the constructionof Fig. XV, the edge 44, 45 of the conveyer sections 8 may move slightlyunderneath the edge of the adjoining section 4!, and thus compensate forsuch misalignment without exerting any strains on either the girt or thesec tions.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gistof this invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various utilization by retaining one or morefeatures that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constituteessential characteristics of either the generic or specific aspects ofthis invention, and, therefore, such possible adaptations should be,andare intended to be, comprehended within the meaning and range ofequivalency covered by the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An apron conv'eyer comprising spaced link chains, transverse girtscarried by the chains, spaced eyes on said girts in approximatealignment with the chain link pivots, foraminous sheet conveyer sectionsbetween the girts and having one transverse edge supported by one girt,spaced openings in said section edge for passage of the eyes aforesaid,said openings being an easy fit for the eyes to accommodate rel'a tiveoperating movements between the section and the girt in the plane ofsaid section, and the adjoining section end edge being of hinge formation with spaced notches corresponding to and for reception of theaforesaid eyes, and pivot pins inserted through said eyes and alignedhinge portion.

2. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains, transverse girtscarried by the chains, spaced eyes onsaid girts in alignmentwith thechain link pivots, foraminous sheet conveyersections between the girts,eachsaid section having one transverseed'ge angularly-connected to onegirt, the adjacent section end edge being provided withtransversely-aligned hinge loops spaced eyes attached to said girts inalignment with the chain link pivots, foraminous sheet conveyer sectionsbetweenthe girts, each said. sec-v tion having one 'end edge engagingone girt in definite angular relationship thereto and the other end edgehaving hinge connection to ana other girt, said hinge connectionincluding spaced notches corresponding in number to and for reception ofthe aforesaid eyes, and pivot pins inserted through said eyes and hingeportion.

5. An apron conveyer as definedin claim 4, in which the foraminous sheetconveyer section consists of reticulate material with a strip ofretroverted sheet metal attached to one of the transverse edges to formthe hinge connection.

6. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains, transverse girtscarried by said chains, eyed cotter pins engaged through spaced holes insaid girts and attached thereto, the eyes of said cotter pins being inalignment with the chain link pivots, foraminous sheet conveyer sectionsbetween the girts, each said section having one transverse edgesustained by one girt and in definite fixed angular relationshipthereto, the other transverse edge of said section being formed to hingesection with spaced notches corresponding to and for reception of theaforesaid cotter pin eyes, and pivot pins inserted through said eyes andhinge sections.

7. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains, transverse girtscarried by said chains, split cotter pins inserted through spaced holesin said girt and attached thereto, the eyes of the cotter pins being inaxial alignment with that of the chain link pivots, foraminous sheetconveyer sections between the girts, each said section having one endedge rectangularly bent down and fixedly attached to one girt, the otherend edge of each section being formed to substantially tubular sectionwith spaced notches corresponding to and for reception of the cotter pineyes, and pivot pins inserted through said eyes and tubular sectionedge.

8. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains with angleattachments near the link pivots, transverse girts secured to said angleattachments, spaced eyes engaged in the girts in axial alignment withthe chain link pivots, foraminous sheet conveyer sections between thegirts, each said section having one end edge angled down for support byone girt in definite angular relationship thereto with the other endedge formed to substantially hinge cross-section for pivotal connectionto the following girt, said hinge cross-sectioned edge having spacednotches corresponding to and for reception of the aforesaid eyes, andpivot pins inserted through said eyes and tubular section.

9. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains, transverse girtscarried by the chains, spaced eyes sustained by said girts in axialalign ment with the chain link pivots, foraminous conveyer sectionsbetween the girts, each such section having one transverse edgeconnected to one girt in definite angular relationship thereto and theother transverse edge retroverted to substantially hinge formation withspaced notches, said notches serving for passage of the spaced eyes onthe adjoining girt, pivot pins inserted through said eyes and hingeformation, and guard elements attached to the longitudinal sides of eachforaminous section adjacent the chains to form continuous side walls forthe conveyer.

10. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains, transverse girtscarried by the chains, spaced eyes sustained by the girts in axialalignment with the chain link pivots, foraminous sheet conveyer sectionsbetween the girts, each said' section having one transverse edge ofcorrugateangled cross-section for support by one girt, openings atintervals along said'edge for passage of the spacedeyes, the othertransverse section edge being formed to provide a substantiallytubular-section hinge portion with interval notches corresponding to andfor reception of ,the aforesaid eyes, pivot pins extending through saideyes and hinge portion, and guards attached'to each edge of the conveyersections adjacent to the chains to form continuous side walls for theconveyer.

11. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains, angle attachmentssecured to the chains near the chain link pivots, transverse girtssustained by said angle attachments, spaced eyes supported by said girtsin axial alignment with the chain link pivots, foraminous sheet conveyersections between the girts, each said section having one edgeangularly-supported by and connected to one girt, spaced openings insaid section edge for passage of the aforesaid eyes, and the adjoiningsection edge formed to hinge section with corresponding notches forreception of the spaced eyes and openings, and pivot pins insertedthrough said eyes and hinge section edge.

12. An apron conveyer comprising spaced link chains, foraminous sheetsections between the chains, each said section having one transverseedge bent to a right-angle and the other transverse edge formed to hingecross-section with spaced notches therein, inwardly-projecting bracketson the chains proximate the chain link pivots, transverse girts securedto said brackets,

each girt being in part of inverted U section lengthwise with spacedholes through said section, split-shank cotter pins inserted in saidholes with the eye portions in alignment with the chain link pivots andhavingindividual shank portions secured to the adjoining U-section-leg,the eye portions of said cotter pins engaging in the foraminous sheethinge-section notches, means securing the adjoining sheet sectionrectangularlybent edge to said girt, and a pivot pin through the firstmentioned sheet hinge-section edge and the cotter pin eyes pivotallyconnecting said section-to the girt.

-13. An apron conveyer in accordance with claim 12, wherein therectangularly bent edge of each section is connected with the bodyportion thereof by intervening reversely-directed merging curvatures,and transversely-directed slots medially pierce said merging curvaturesfor free passage of the cotter pin eye portions.

14. An apron conveyer comprising spaced roller chains,inwardly-projecting brackets on the spaced chains near the roller axes,transverse girts secured to said brackets, each said girt embodying anupwardly open groove with a paralleling inverted U-section providing adownwardly-open groove, spaced holes through the U-section rounding,split-shank cotter pins in said holes having their eyes out-wards andtheir shanks anchored to the U-section, said cotter pins registering inthe hinge element notches, foraminous sheet sections between the girts,each said section having one end bent to define arectangular lip and theother end retroverted to an acute angle "bend, a hinge element with oneedge formed to tubular cross-section and the opposing edge retrovertedfor reception and attachment of the foraminous acute angled bend, spacednotches across-the hing-e element tubular portion,

means securing an adjoining foraminous section rectangular lip to onegirt, with said lip engaged in its upwardly-open groove, a pivot pinthrough. one foraminous section hinge element tubular portion and thecotter-pin eyes for hinging it to the associated girt, and guardsattached to the aligned foraminous sheet sections forming continuousside walls for the conveyer.

15. An apron conveyer as defined in claim the latter, and wire staplespassed through the foraminous section and said holes from one side, withthe free ends of each staple secured together at the other side thereof.

HAROLD H. BELCHER.

